


Yeah I Got Issues (And One Of Them Is How Bad I Need You)

by fortunehasgivenup



Series: And did you know that I'm wild for your skin [3]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: AU, Backstory, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, First Dates, Friendship, Getting to Know Each Other, Matchmaking, No Angst, Post-Divorce, Sex, Sex in a bed, Tattoos, Vaginal Sex, dad Rio, parenting, tattoo artist - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-02 03:41:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19191196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortunehasgivenup/pseuds/fortunehasgivenup
Summary: Beth asks Annie to babysit, Ruby thinks it’s unfair that she doesn’t know what Rio looks like.Beth and Rio go on their first date and get to know each other better.





	Yeah I Got Issues (And One Of Them Is How Bad I Need You)

“I need you to babysit tomorrow.”

Annie stopped in the kitchen door, then put her hands on her hips. “Oh you do, do you?” 

Sadie bolted towards the living room where the others were watching TV with a quick kiss to Beth’s cheek.

Beth glared at her sister.

“Only if you tell me why,” Annie said, turning and kicking off her shoes. They thumped against the wall and fell haphazardly to the ground. Beth winced.

“I have a date,” Beth said.

Her sister gasped and spun around, mouth wide open. “Who? I need deets, right now.”

“Can you wait like five minutes until Ruby gets here? Then I only need to do this once,” Beth asked, saved from Annie’s impatience by the oven timer going off. By the time she’d moved the cookie trays around, Ruby was coming in through the door. 

“Hi Auntie Beth, Auntie Annie!” Sara greeted them on her way to join the others. 

Ruby set down Harry, who followed his sister, and groaned as she took off her flats. “That girl has been non-stop all day. Got any tranquilizers or something?”

“Better.” Annie grinned at Ruby. “Beth is about to tell us who she’s going on a date with!”

“What!” Ruby nearly shouted, barely lowering her voice in time. She looked at Beth. “Who!” She took a seat at the counter beside Annie as Beth took the lemonade from the fridge and brought it to them. 

Beth untied her apron and pulled it over her head to hang by the door. “A guy.”

“Yeah, no duh,” Annie said. “You’re like the straightest person I’ve met. Do we know him?”

She hadn’t exactly decided how to play this, though she knew that she didn’t want to outright lie to Ruby and Annie. As she hunted for a response, they made their own guess.

“We do!” Ruby reached out to grab Annie’s hand. “Who is it? Is it that guy who keeps hitting on you in the carpool line? It better not be. That guy is weird and his daughter is the worst.”

“No, it’s not carpool guy,” Beth assured Ruby. “Annie knows him,” she hedged, setting the timer.

“Everyone I know that you could be dating, Ruby knows too,” Annie said, then stopped. She looked at Beth, eyes getting wide. “Except one person.”

“Who?” Ruby demanded. “The suspense is killing me!”

Annie’s mouth was doing something between a smile and a grimace. “Really? My tattoo artist?”

“Oh my goooood,” Ruby’s head went back and forth between the two of them. “For real?”

Beth nodded. 

Ruby poured herself a glass of lemonade and drained half of it in a single go, then topped it up. “How’d that come about? Come on, spill it all. I need some excitement.”

“She went back for my sweater,” Annie said, not looking away from Beth. “But that was weeks and weeks ago, so if the result of that had been a date, we would have known about it before now.” Her eyes narrowed. “What happened?”

Beth swallowed and opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out.

“You guys banged!” Annie immediately guessed. “I am so proud of you. High five!” She held up her hand.

“I’m not high fiving you because I hooked up with a stranger.” Beth put her hands on her hips. 

“He’s not a stranger anymore!” Annie didn’t lower her hand, just pivoted to Ruby, who slapped it down.

“But yes, we did,” Beth admitted. “Then soccer started up and it turns out that he has a son Jane’s age, Marcus. They’re on the same team.” She didn’t bring up the van incident. She could have some secrets to herself. “We’ve been talking and he’s a great guy, a good dad. He asked me out on a date for tomorrow night, I said yes.”

“I thought Dean was taking the kids tomorrow,” Ruby said.

Beth nodded. “He is, but pick-up has been pushed back to eight because of something at the dealership. Rio’s supposed to pick me up at 7.”

“So you’re asking me to look after your kids while you get some?” Annie grinned. “Of course I will. Like you had to ask.”

“You could have been working,” Beth reminded Annie.

“I would have called in sick to experience this moment,” Annie insisted with a wave of her hand. “Have you mentioned this to Dean?”

“No.”

Annie brightened. “He’s gonna ask where you are. Can I tell him that you’re on a date? With quite possibly one of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen.”

“This isn’t fair,” Ruby whined, drawing her mouth into an exaggerated pout. “I don’t know what he looks like!”

“Oh! I’ll show you,” Annie said.

“What?” Beth, who had started to turn towards the fridge so she could put the lemonade away, yelped. “How?”

“It’s called Instagram, Beth,” Annie pulled out her phone and started tapping around. “Aww yeah, there we go.” She turned the phone to Ruby, whose eyes widened.

“Oh. Huh.” Ruby turned her head towards Beth. “Wow.”

Beth made herself walk back towards them slowly so she could look at Annie’s phone.

It was a full colour, unfiltered and unposed photo of Rio sitting at his drawing desk. He was half turned towards the camera, enough that you could see his face and even part of his neck tattoo since his shirt wasn’t buttoned to the top. The caption below said _Rio making the most of the afternoon light while he works on something we’re real excited to show you._

“How was it?” Beth looked up at Ruby. 

“What?” Ruby scoffed, “Don’t look at me like that. That man is a snack and a half. I love Stan, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to know about your sexcapades.”

“Did you just use the term sexcapades in a conversation?” Annie shook her head. “I can’t even be around you two. But I’m gonna have to second Ruby’s question. Even though I’m not sure I want to know. Do I want to know? This is a dilemma.”

“If you don’t want to know, go away,” Ruby shoved at her arm, “because I gotta know.”

Beth could feel her cheeks turning red under their attention. “It was -“ 

“That bad?” Ruby asked, grimacing.

“Oh no,” Annie responded. “That’s the look of a woman who got it so good that she doesn’t even know how to describe it. Dammit, how am I going to look him in the eye ever again?”

“Your tattoo’s on your back, you’ll be fine,” Ruby said, “so hush.” 

“Well, since this is happening, might as well go all the way.” Annie leaned towards Ruby. “That man has swagger. Definition of big dick energy.” They both looked at Beth.

“He’s -“ Beth faltered again. How had it come to this? She wanted to climb into the fridge or something to hide.

“If I hold up my hands and slowly move them apart, will you tell me when to stop?” Annie asked.

“No!” Beth shook her head. “He’s, he’s like perfect, okay?”

Annie and Ruby whistled. 

“So he’s big, but not so big that you’re like ‘That’s going to rearrange my insides and not in a fun way,’” Annie said.

“Is there a fun way to rearrange your insides?” Ruby turned to look at Annie, who shrugged in response. “Is this what you called us over for? You sounded more…upset on the phone. This doesn’t sound like it’s making you feel that kinda way.”

Ruby and Annie both fixed their gazes on Beth and waited for her to explain.

“Dean was at the soccer field when Rio and I were both there,” she began. “We agreed to get ice cream together, so Rio went off with Marcus. Dean pulled me aside when the kids were getting in the car to say that he didn’t like the idea of them being around a guy with a neck tattoo. I told him it was none of his business what kind of tattoos people have. He made some kind of petty remark about how I must be desperate if that’s the kind of guy I’m chasing. I had to spend ten seconds calming down so I didn’t punch him in the face.”

“I’ll do it,” Annie offered. “What, like he’d press charges,” she snorted, “he’d be too embarrassed that he got punched by a girl. Because he’s a misogynist who thinks that the right place for a woman is somewhere that she’s not punching men in the face.”

Ruby was making a sour face that Beth was pretty sure had nothing to do with the lemonade. “He really said that?” 

Beth nodded, then propped her head up with her hands. 

“Has he been making trouble?” Ruby went on, reaching out to put a hand on Beth’s arm. 

“Not trouble,” Beth replied. “Just existing.”

They all laughed, though there wasn’t much joy in the sound. The timer went and Beth took the cookies out, putting the trays on the counter to let the cookies set. 

“So where’s he taking you?” Ruby changed the subject with a cheery smile.

Beth pulled out her phone and brought up Rio’s message. “He hasn’t actually told me. Just said he’d pick me up at 7 and that the place is casual, I should make sure to wear something I can move around in.”

“Casual,” Annie said. “What does that even mean?”

“That’s why I asked,” Beth sighed, “and his response was that as long as I was wearing clothes I’d be fine because,” she lowered her voice to mimic Rio, “I doubt you own anything less than nice.”

Annie coughed. “He sounds nothing like that,” she told Ruby before turning back to Beth. “What is he, the godfather?”

Ruby shoved Annie with her shoulder. “Figure out what you’re wearing yet?”

“No, which brings us to the happier part of this meeting,” Beth said. “You get to help me figure that out.”

Eventually, Ruby helped her settle on a blue sweater she had forgotten that she even owned and a pair of jeans she didn’t wear often while Annie dug through Beth’s jewellery box.

“Wear heels,” Annie said as she picked through the sets of earrings.

“Walking in heels is a pain in the ass,” Beth replied, “literally.”

“Yeah, and?” Annie came towards her with a delicate necklace and an understated pair of drop earrings. “Walking in heels is also a great excuse to lean all over him. Maybe you need a little help balancing.”

Ruby dropped a scarf on Annie’s head. “Don’t wear any so high that you can’t walk in without help. You’ll look like a drunken deer trying to walk.”

Annie yanked the scarf off and tossed it back at Ruby. “I like my idea better.”

“He said stuff that I could move in,” Beth reminded them. “That suggests at least some physical activity. I can’t do that in heels.”

Annie scoffed. “You’re just not trying hard enough,” she insisted.

“I don’t want to break my neck on our first date, Annie.” Beth took the scarf and hung it back up in the closet. “It would put a real damper on things.”

“At least you’d die after getting some really great di-“

“Mommy,” Emma ran into the doorway, thankfully cutting off whatever Annie had been about to say, “can we have popsicles?”

“Sure, I’ll get them.” Beth leapt at the chance to escape Annie’s mostly well-intentioned advice. She gave her sister a pointed glare and Annie threw up her hands in surrender.

“What colour does everyone want?” Beth asked the kids when she reached the kitchen. The subject of her date didn’t come up again, but she caught Annie and Ruby giving each other wide eyed looks until they left.

\---------------- 

By the time Friday actually came, Rio was wondering if he might be losing it a little bit.

Thursday afternoon, he’d been reviewing invoices, only to realize that he’d doodled a pin-up girl in his sketch pad. A pin-up girl that was a dead ringer for Beth, perched on the hood of a car. His car.

“New flash sheet?” Stef had asked, looming over Rio’s shoulder as he picked up his paycheque.

Rio had told him to fuck off, which would undoubtedly make Stef that much more likely to start gossiping about Rio being distracted. The staff at the shop, while not quite at Marcus and Jane’s level - who were in turn a step down from his mother’s church group, were a bunch of gossips and it wouldn’t be long until they figured out he was seeing someone. 

Thursday night, he’d had a discussion with Marcus about the fact that he was taking Jane’s mom out on a date. Marcus had been ecstatic. “Jane says that her mommy makes the best birthday cakes! Is she going to make your birthday cake?”

“We’ll see,” he’d hedged. His birthday was still two months away and he needed to get through the first date first. 

A couple minutes before seven, he pulled up in front of the address that Beth had texted him. It was smack in the middle of a development full of houses that were just the slightest bit different from one another, like they’d been chosen from an assembly line.

Looking at the house, Rio decided that it didn’t suit Beth. It was cookie cutter, though someone had planted all kinds of flowers and shrubs in the yard. The bursts of colour seemed more like her.

He walked slowly up the front walk, studying the garden. It had to take a lot of work to keep it in such good shape. There was even a rose bush. Weren't those supposed to be tricky? Did she do it all herself?

Rio knocked at the door, feeling a little out of place in Beth’s suburb. There was the sound of footsteps, then the door was being flung open, revealing Annie. He stared at her.

“Chill, you’re not at the wrong house or anything,” she stepped out of the way and gestured for him to come in, “Beth’s just making the kids re-pack their weekend bags. Again.”

“Oh.” Rio swallowed. “She said her ex had the kids for the weekend.”

Annie nodded. “He does. He’ll be here in like an hour. Though it’s Dean, so that means somewhere between sixty minutes and two to four business days.”

Shit, was it okay that he was here while her kids were? They knew who he was, but had Beth explained that she was going on a date with him?

“Should I wait outside?” He offered.

“Nope,” Annie said. “I got to witness Beth explaining to them that she was going out for dinner with someone and it was amazing, especially when Jane found out it was you. She approves of you, you’ll be happy to know. How many times have you and my sister slept together?”

Rio didn’t react to the question. 

“She’s admitted to the day we were in the shop and she had to go back and get my sweater - you’re welcome for that, by the way,” Annie went on, “but I’ve got my suspicions.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” He puts his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall.

“Oh come on.” Annie sighed. “I didn’t risk losing my favourite sweater forever only to get shut out, man.”

He wrinkled his forehead. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Annie smiled. “It means that I caught you checking out my sister and that I know what she’s like when she’s attracted to somebody. One plus one equals the beast with two backs, but I was third-wheeling, so I needed to give her a reason to be there by herself.”

Rio stared at Annie. It took him a second to realize that his mouth was open. “What?”

“You can thank me later,” Annie patted his arm. “I’m gonna go make sure that she’s done. Sadie, don’t get freaked out by the strange man at the door,” she called out, then headed up the stairs.

Rio was still recovering when a kid appeared at the end of the hall. “Did she say ‘don’t get freaked out by the strange man’ or did I imagine that?” The kid asked.

“No, that’s what she said.”

The kid sighed, eyeing him warily. “I’m Sadie, Annie’s son.”

Rio took in the short hair, the clothing, the subtle stress on the word ‘son’ and the hesitant way Sadie held himself and he made an effort to relax. “I’m Rio,” he introduced himself. “I’m taking your aunt on a date.”

Sadie approached slowly. “Where’d you get those shoes?” He asked.

Rio looked down at his feet, then back at Sadie. “Friend of mine has a shoe store.”

“He carry kid’s sizes?” Sadie asked, inspecting them from a few feet away. “Mom and I have been looking for something like that for me, but they’re all either too big or the plasticy kind.” He made a face.

“He doesn’t usually, but he might have an idea about where to find some.”

Sadie nodded, raising his head to look at Rio squarely. “My mom says you’re doing the cover-up on her tattoo.” Rio lifted his chin. “I looked at your portfolio. You’re a really good artist.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t be a dick to my Aunt Beth.” Sadie’s expression turned serious.

Rio shifted. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

“I don’t think Uncle Dean planned on it either,” Sadie crossed his arms over his chest. “But he’s still a massive asshole.”

“Language!” Annie gasped as she came down the stairs. “She’ll be down in a minute. Are we threatening him?” 

Sadie ignored his mother. “So don’t be a jerk to her.”

Rio ran his tongue over the backs of his teeth. “I’m not going to be.”

“Or we’ll murder you,” Annie assured him, wrapping her arm around Sadie’s slim shoulders. “Our best friend Ruby is married to a cop and I’m pretty sure that he would be willing to help us cover up your disappearance, so keep that in mind.”

Rio bit the inside of his cheek to stop from laughing. “I’ll keep that in mind. He know she’s going on a date tonight?” 

Annie’s smile turned wicked. “Dean? Nah. My payment for this hour of babysitting is being allowed to tell him when he comes to get the munchkins. And she’s providing us with pizza. I expect a message from her afterwards with a coded phrase, so don’t try to kidnap or murder her, anything like that either.”

“Damn,” he deadpanned, “there go my after dinner plans.”

“What after dinner plans?” Beth was coming down the stairs, Emma in tow. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a dark blue sweater that wrapped around her like it had been made for that particular set of curves. Fuck. He shifted in place. “Hi,” she greeted him, moving to slip into a pair of boots.

“Hi,” Rio said back, watching the subtle shift of her legs as she stepped into the shoes, then looked up to find Annie and Sadie staring at him with matching smiles. He ignored them. “You look great,” he told Beth.

“Thanks.” Her cheeks pinked as she ducked down to kiss Emma. “Bye!” She called out. “Love you all and I’ll be by your dad’s tomorrow to pick up Jane for the park if anyone else wants to come!”

There was a chorus of farewells and Beth gave her sister a sharp glare before coming to stand next to him. “Don’t overdo it,” she warned.

“I won’t!” Annie put up her hands. “I will keep my delight under a bushel.”

“That’s not how the phrase goes,” Beth stepped over the threshold, “but thank you for doing this. Love you both!” 

Rio offered Beth a hand down the walkway, though it didn’t seem like she had trouble walking with her shoes. She took it with a small smile. “Sorry about my sister. I can only assume that she said something ridiculous to you.”

“Nah,” he shrugged, opening the passenger side door, “she’s just looking out for her big sister. Though I’m told your friend is married to a cop.”

Beth groaned as he shut the door. “That was it?” She asked once he joined her.

“I also said I’d see if they make my shoes in smaller sizes.”

“For Sadie?” Beth guessed. Rio hummed in response as he pulled away from the curb. 

He asked what he’d been curious about since pulling up to the house, “You plant all the stuff in your garden?” 

She seemed surprised by the change in topic, but answered, “Yeah. It’s a hobby, something to do on the weekends, especially when the kids are gone.”

“It looked nice.”

“Thank you,” she turned her head towards the window a fraction of a degree.

“What do you do?” Her head came back in his direction. “You obviously know what I do, but I don’t know what you do.”

She smiled. “I have a small catering business with Ruby.”

Stopping at the red light, Rio looked at Beth. “Yeah?”

“After Jane, I wanted to go back to work, but it’s hard when you’ve got a 12 year blank space in your history. Same time, Ruby was having trouble at work.” Beth let her head fall back against the seat. “We’d done some stuff before - for friends and friends of friends - so we made it official.”

Rio turned left. “You like it?”

“It’s exhausting,” she admitted, “but it feels worth it. Annie lends a hand with transportation and set up sometimes, but it’s not really her thing.”

“What do you call yourselves?” Rio asked.

Beth laughed. “Good Girls.”

“What?” He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

“Good Girls,” she repeated, grinning at him. “When we were younger and we baked stuff for our neighbours or relatives or lent a hand, they’d always say things like, “Oh, you’re such a good girl!” We both hated it, but it became kind of a joke after a while.”

Rio nodded. “I see.”

“What about you - you said it’s your shop.” She shifted in her seat so that she was turned more towards him. “Why’s it called Jack’s Five and Dime?”

“Used to belong to Jack,” Rio said. “Didn’t feel like re-naming it.” That was a massive oversimplification of the situation, but the truth. He’d tell her all the gory details eventually. There were a few more steps between here and there, he thought to himself, pulling into a parking lot.

It was busy, this time of night on a Friday, but Rio found a spot quickly. “You ready?” He turned to Beth and asked.

She blushed a light pink, though it was darkened by the colours of the sunset that came through the windshield.

“You embarrassed?”

“What?” Her brows drew into a v. “No, why would you think that?”

Rio reached out to run the back of his forefinger over her cheek. “You blush.”

“Yeah, that happens a lot,” she said. “When I’m nervous or happy or really, any time.”

Rio moved his finger up her cheekbone to her temple, then hooked her hair behind her ear. “You ready then?” He repeated his question.

Beth nodded. “Very much so.” 

He dropped his hand and unbuckled his seatbelt. “C’mon then. Time’s-a-wasting.”

—————

“Where are we going?” Beth looked around them, letting Rio pull her along by their joined hands as she tries to figure out where they even are. As soon as he’d met her at the front of the car, he’d interlaced their fingers. Beth was hoping her hands weren’t as sweaty as she was imagining them to be.

“You’ll see in like, a minute,” he slowed his pace so he didn’t tug her along. “You’ve got no patience.”

Beth laughed and dropped her head against his bicep. “Yeah, because I never get to go out anywhere. Not without tugging several kids and/or friends along.”

“Well relax,” he took a turn down a side street. “You don’t have them along tonight. Just you and me.”

The street got busier as restaurants and cafes and bars came into view. She recognized a couple of them, but she hadn’t been to this part of the city in ages.

“It’s the one up there,” he pointed with his free hand.

Beth followed his finger. “The one with the neon bowling pin sign?”

“Yup,” Rio drew her towards the building and held the door open. Beth paused. “Going chicken on me?”

She narrowed her gaze. “Trying to goad me into it? I know what you’re doing,” she scolded.

He shrugged, lips tugging at the corners. “C’mon. It’ll be fun, I promise.”

Beth stepped through the door. “I think the last time I bowled was in high school,” she commented, stepping into a significantly nicer space than she’d expected. It had all the trappings of a bowling alley, but the individual lanes had high booths and tables. Waitstaff were moving through with trays and the bar was massive. “And it looked nothing like this.”

He chuckled, pulling her to the host’s stand.

It turned out that he’d made a reservation and everything, for a booth at the very end. 

“It’s a little quieter,” he said as they followed the hostess after grabbing shoes. “Can actually hear you talk.”

Beth busied herself with studying the menu - pretty typical bar fare - as he set up their lane. When she looked up, he’d entered ELIZABETH and RIO.

“You know that you can just write Beth, right?” 

He gave her a look. “I could. But I don’t want to. You’re an Elizabeth.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Beth’s shoulders went up.

“Relax,” he advised, “it’s a good thing. Means you’re a boss.”

“That makes no sense,” Beth replied. How was Elizabeth the name of a boss?

Rio shrugged. “Never said it did. You know what you want?” He jerked his head towards the server approaching their lane. 

She didn’t, but she made a hasty choice and stared down the lane towards the cluster of pins at the far end. 

“You go first,” he said, nudging her slightly.

Beth stood up, the sense of doom that she had pointedly been ignoring settling on her all at once. They had walked past lanes and lanes full of people who took this seriously enough to have brought their own bowling balls and shoes. Beth was pretty sure that she hadn't bowled in the last decade. She couldn’t do this.

“What?” He asked, taking in her facial expression.

“I granny bowl!” Beth hissed.

Rio didn’t even try to hide his amusement. “F’real?”

She nodded, looking around them at the other lanes, then back up at Rio. “What are you smiling at?”

His grin got bigger. “Honestly? This is even better than I’d planned.” He tapped the underside of her chin. “I’m gonna teach you.” 

Beth let him lead her to pick up a ball, then to line her up with their lane. 

“We’re gonna take a few steps,” he stood right behind her, covering her hand on the ball, “then release. Let me direct the motion of your arm the first few times, okay?”

She nodded and he cozied up to her just a little bit closer. Beth bit her lip, just barely stopping herself from canting her hips back against him. His breath in her ear was steady. “Left foot first,” he instructed, guiding her through her first throw.

To Beth’s shock, it didn’t even wind up in the gutter, but instead knocked down two pins on the end. She clapped her hands together. “Yes!”

Rio’s laughter echoed in her ear, squeezing her waist gently. It was the kind of thing that normally would have made Beth panic, someone drawing attention to her softness, but when she looked over her shoulder at him, she didn’t see any displeasure. There was no comment about how she used to look. Rio only knew this Beth, wasn’t comparing her to her sixteen year old self. “Let’s see if we can’t get you a spare.”

They didn’t, but there was only one pin standing when her turn was done. The pins reset as Beth returned to the as their waitress approached with their drinks.

“If you need anything else,” the young woman said, “just let me know.” She winked at Beth and left.

Rio took a pull of his beer. “What’s that look on your face?”

“Nothing!”

He snorted, clearly not believing her. “Now watch,” he instructed. Beth shouldn’t have been surprised when he set up and executed a perfect roll that knocked down all of the pins.

She was gaping at him when he sauntered back to the table. “Did you bring me here just so you could show off?” Beth asked.

Rio raised a brow, but he was smiling as he did it.

“You did, didn’t you.” She poked him in the stomach. “Well your assistance is still needed, so hurry up.”

“Happy to help,” he assured her, going through the steps again. “You seriously never learned how to bowl?”

“Why would I have learned how to bowl?” Beth asked, not pushing him away after she got her second ball. 

He made a noise. “American pastime?”

“I think that’s football,” Beth told him, enjoying the huff of his breath against the back of her neck.

“You play football?” Rio asked.

“No, I did not. Dean did, though.” As soon as she’d mentioned his name, she regretted bringing him up. Rio didn’t comment on her mention of her ex-husband, just hummed. “I went to the bowling alley a few times before I got to high school,” she tilted her head back so that she could see him as she spoke, “but I wasn’t exactly cool so it was just me and Ruby. Half the time, I was babysitting Annie too.”

“Well,” he said, “now you’re going to learn. You’re taking your next turn on your own,” he warned.

Beth nodded, taking a third ball and preparing to roll it. Rio led her through the steps once more, then let her go. This time, all the pins fell and when Beth laughed, he laughed with her.

The waitress returned with their food and the game slowed as they ate. They kept up a steady stream of conversation broken up by them taking their turns, getting through the standard first date questions, which - Beth realized as she asked him where he grew up - they hadn’t bothered getting to know before they’d slept together the first couple times. 

Not that the high school he’d attended had anything to do with a sexual relationship. Still, it was nice to know that he had a niece and a nephew, that his mom lived nearby. 

As the evening wore on, Beth grew more comfortable. She wasn’t sure if she was improving or if the beer was just helping her feel a little less self conscious of her inexperience.

“You bowl a lot?” She asked.

Rio finished chewing and swallowed. “Not a ton. My sister’s husband likes it, so sometimes we take all the kids.”

Beth shook her head. “I don’t believe that. You’re too good.”

He laughed. “Then you should see Nick. I don’t think I’ve ever beaten him unless it’s because he let Mina or Alex take his turn.”

“Doesn’t mean that you’re not also good.” she nudged his foot under the table before sliding out to take her turn. 

“When did you get your first tattoo?” Beth asked as they shared a flourless chocolate cake for dessert.

She saw him hesitate, then lower his fork before he could take another piece. “Actually, it was when I was in juvie.”

Beth paused, her hand hovering in mid air. “Oh?”

She could feel Rio watching her as she ate the forkful of cake. She chewed slowly, matching that knowledge with what she knew about Rio and already feeling reasonably certain that it didn’t change anything. Unless it was for murder, she decided quickly. Murder would probably do it.

“Yeah.” 

She met his gaze. “I guess I should ask you what you went to juvie for?”

His lips twitched. “Auto theft,” he answered. “Haven’t been arrested since.”

“Life of crime wasn’t for you?” Beth said, keeping her tone light.

Rio shrugged. “I think it would have destroyed my mom, having me in lock-up. She and Lora visited as much as they could, but it wore on her. I got out, made sure I didn’t go back in. I was lucky.”

“Lucky?” She couldn't quite disguise her surprise.

“Plenty of people do the same stuff I did and got longer sentences or got caught for a misdemeanour once they were adults. Once you’re in the system, it wants you to stay,” he looked away. “I got lucky.”

Beth reached out to brush her hand against his. “I’m glad that you did.”

Rio’s face swung back to her. 

“But we have one round left,” she told him, squeezing his fingers, “and I have a good feeling about this one.”

“Do you now?” Rio squeezed back. 

Beth nodded, then let go of him to take her turn, getting - for the first time of the night - a strike. Rio was laughing when she turned around, pumping her fists. “Congratulations,” he kissed her cheek, “you did it.”

“I had a good teacher,” she replied.

His mouth settled into a wide grin, crinkling the skin around his eyes and mouth. “You’re a good student,” he said, then took his last turn - another strike. 

“Oh come on!” Beth huffed. “Really?”

“What can I say, I’ve got skills,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.” He dropped some cash on the table.

The place had filled up even more as they walked back to the counter to exchange their shoes. Beth opened her mouth to protest when Rio handed over his credit card to cover it all.

“Hey, I asked you out,” he stopped her. “Means it’s my treat.”

“That’s not going to work every time,” she warned him. “Don’t think that I forgot about the ice cream either.”

Rio put his wallet away and set a warm hand on her back as they pushed through the crowd to the door. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, dropping his hand, but only so that he could join it with hers again.

They wandered for a while after leaving the bowling alley, walking slowly hand in hand and enjoying the warm weather without the blistering sun.

“I bet you get a sunburn in the shade,” Rio teased her when she said as much.

Beth pursed her lips in a show of fake outrage. “That was one time,” she retorted.

“C’mon,” he tugged on her hand, “I want to show you something.”

Beth followed, but she couldn’t help but joke, “If it’s your penis, I have to tell you that I’ve already seen it.”

Rio stopped, turning towards her and stepping into her path so she thumped into his chest. 

“I don’t put out on a first date, Elizabeth,” he said.

She snorted. “Sorry, that was just -“

He cut her off with a kiss. Beth responded immediately, reaching up to cradle his skull. Part of her wondered what it would be like to bury her hands in Rio’s hair, but she found that she liked the texture of his buzzcut. Smooth and rough, depending entirely on which way she moved.

“Let me take you back to your place,” Rio said against her lips when they separated, “we can have sex in a bed for once.”

That sounded good. Really, really good.

“You live far?” Beth asked.

He shook his head. “But Marcus is there,” he admitted. 

“Oh,” Beth sighed. “What were you going to show me?”

“It can wait,” Rio shrugged it off, kissing her again. His hands had come down to settle at the small of her back and as he did his best to bring her to orgasm with nothing more than a kiss, one slipped down to curve around her ass. He used the hold to coax Beth into rising onto her toes and pressing closer.

Someone on the other side of the street hollered and whistled, prompting Beth to drop back onto her heels in embarrassment.

“Fuck off,” Rio muttered, but didn’t confront the guy, just wrapped his arm around Beth’s shoulder and directed them towards his car. “You cold?” He asked, when she shivered.

Beth shook her head. “If anything, I’m hot.”

There was a pause.

“Yeah you are,” he replied. Beth rolled her eyes as they reached the car, but the fluttery feeling in her chest picked up at his words.

At the car, he opened the door for her. The streetlights threw his face into a strange configuration of shadows, but looking at him, Beth was still certain that he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Rising onto her toes, she kissed him for once.

Rio’s arm anchored her against him as she slowly pulled away. “Let’s go back to my place,” Beth said. He swallowed, Adam’s apple bobbing beneath the bird on his neck. He nodded.

Unlike the ride at the beginning of the night, this one was quiet. Fraught, Beth might even have said. Every stoplight and stop sign, Rio’s right hand came down to rest on her thigh, fingers teasing the inside seam of her jeans. Each time he did it, his hand got a little bit higher until they reached the house and his fingers were practically rubbing her through the denim.

“Want a drink?” Beth asked as she led him to the house.

“Uh uh,” he vocalized, just behind her as she unlocked the kitchen door. His closeness made her fingers struggle with the key, but eventually, she got it.

Annie had left the hall lights on and a quick glance around the kitchen showed that her sister had actually tidied up the dinner dishes and everything. She heard the click of the lock behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see Rio looking a little sheepish. 

“Should I not have -“

“No,” Beth told him, “you saved me a step.”

A piece of paper was propped up on the counter and Beth went to it, Rio moving with her.

DON’T BE A FOOL, it said, WRAP YOUR TOOL.

Rio chuckled, brushing his nose over the shell of her ear. “Annie?”

“Who else?” Beth dropped the note. “I’m not sure if I should be offended that she would think I wasn’t aware of safe sex or mad that she was so presumptuous about me bringing you home.”

“How about,” Rio trapped her against the counter, “we forget about your sister?”

She could feel him pressing against her back through layers of clothing. She let her head fall back against his shoulder. 

“Sounds like a good idea,” she sighed. “Know what else sounds like a good idea?”

“What?” He nosed her hair aside and ran his lips from her neck to the edge of her sweater. 

“Having sex in a bed,” Beth said.

She felt him smile. “Sounds real good to me,” he agreed. “Lead the way.”

Beth nudged him backwards so she could get out from between him and the counter. “You don’t want the tour?” She asked.

“Some other time.” Rio slid a hand in her back pocket and followed her down the hall to the master bedroom. “For now, you’re showing me the highlights.” 

Beth closed the door behind them even though, with the house empty, it was completely unnecessary. Still, Rio made full use of it, crowding her against the door.

“Gonna kiss me?” He asked, keeping his head low, just within her reach.

She surged up against him, going onto her tiptoes and throwing her arms around his neck. He didn’t even stagger, just angled his head so that their noses didn’t collide.

Kissing Rio was a full body experience, Beth was learning. It wasn’t just mouths and tongues. In general, he liked to touch - whether it was sexual or something more innocent like brushing her hair back - he was tactile and it seemed to increase a hundredfold when he was kissing her. As if he could hear her thoughts, his hands slipped beneath the hem of her sweater and began to drag it upwards.

The sensation of the backs of his fingers rubbing her belly made her toes curl against the floor. Beth reached up for the buttons of his shirt and began to undo them, shaking slightly. It didn’t take long for him to shrug out of the shirt, pulling away long enough to tug Beth’s sweater the rest of the way off before returning to kissing her.

Beth ran her hands over his shoulders, feeling every twitch and tensing of his muscles as he undid her jeans and pushed them down to the ground.

She wanted to see him, she realized. Wanted to see what ink was beneath her hands. Had she even seen his bare back yet? Gasping, she turned her head to the side, breaking the kiss.

Rio made a noise of disappointment and went to follow.

Beth undid Rio’s pants and shoved them down. “I want to look at you,” she told him.

“Hmm?” 

“I want to take my time and look at you,” Beth said, running her hands along an inked line on his chest. “I want to look at these.”

“Yeah?” Rio asked, an all too smug look on his face. “What do I get if I let you do that?”

Beth pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, glancing around the room before settling back on him. “What do you want?”

His expression turned predatory.

“Within reason,” she added on.

“Of course,” he agreed, ducking his head to kiss her as his hands kneaded her bare hips. Beth stepped free of her jeans and nudged him backwards in the direction of the bed.

He took the hint and went in that direction, but stopped beside the bed. “Do I get to look at you too?” He asked.

Beth looked down. She was in a pair of underwear she’d picked out just for this purpose, a sapphire blue lace she’d bought after the divorce in a fit of pique. She raised her head. “This not doing it for you?” She asked, suddenly feeling out of place in her own bedroom.

“Oh, believe me, it’s doing it for me,” he pressed his groin to her belly to demonstrate just how much it was doing it for him, “but I like skin when I can get it, baby.”

She bit her lip.

“You want to keep it on?” Rio asked.

Beth made a split second decisions - and god, she made a lot of those around this man - and pushed her panties down to the floor before removing his boxer briefs as well. He took a seat on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his hands to watch her unhook her bra. 

Her own eyes were taking in all of him. His chest tattoos were what she had seen the most of, but she stepped forward to touch the sacred heart anyways, before shifting to the geometric pattern on his side. 

“Do they all mean something?” She asked.

Rio’s skin jumped under her touch. “Everything means something.”

Beth scowled. “You know what I mean.”

He reached out, wrapped his hands around the backs of her thighs, and pulled her a little bit closer. “Some more than others, but eventually they all start to mean something. Like that one you’re touching right now,” Beth flattened her palm against it, “doesn’t have some deep significance. There’s not a line to represent each member of my family or anything like that. But I got it a couple years ago from a friend.”

“What’s his name?” 

His skin felt smooth and warm under her hand.

“Her name,” Rio drawled pointedly, “is Lia. She’s the first person I taught. But then she fucked off to Seattle with her boyfriend, so I don’t see her as much.”

“Oh.”

She moved her hand to his left arm. Beth could feel the movement of his muscles and tendons shifting at her touch as she explored the outer curve of his bicep, then trailed down the inside of his forearm. He shivered slightly.

“That one,” he said, “was my first big piece. I saved up for ages to pay for it because the guy who did it lives in Japan. He comes over here every so often, sticks around for a week or so, then goes back.”

“Must have taken ages to get it done then,” Beth said, rubbing the fish at his wrist.

“One sitting.”

Beth’s hand froze and she looked up at his face. “Seriously?” The tattoo was intricate, detailed.

He nodded. “It was either that or risk him never coming back. Then I’d have to go to Japan or let someone else finish it. Wasn’t gonna happen.”

She returned her gaze to his arm and traced the swirl of water near his elbow. “How much did it hurt?”

“Like a motherfucker.”

Beth shook her head in disbelief, but switched her focus to his other arm, which was more eclectic.

“That’s my sticker book,” he told her. “Collected them from all different artists over the years. People I admire.”

She could see it now - the way that each thing was unlike the others. Some were colourful, some hyper stylized, some almost heavy looking. She reached his wrist and sank down between his knees. She hadn’t had much of a chance to see any of the tattoos below his waist beyond flashes of ink that day in the shop.

The ink on his legs wasn’t so all encompassing, though the lines were thicker, the shapes larger. Like the rest of him, his legs were deceptively lean, but solid. As Beth ran her hand up the snarling animal on his thigh, Rio’s breath caught.

“Sensitive?” She asked, keeping her smile to herself.

“You’re getting closer to somewhere sensitive,” he mumbled, moving so that his legs were splayed and he was leaning back on his elbows. 

Beth drew a line up the artery on the inside of his leg towards his groin, only to stop just short of where he wanted her.

“So that’s how we’re playing it tonight?” He asked, eyes closed. 

Beth did the same action on the other side, brushing against him this time. His cock jerked and his hips shifted, restless. 

“I seem to remember you saying something about it being my turn,” she told him.

“When did I say that?” Rio’s tone was disbelieving and he lifted his head to stare at her.

She shrugged. “Okay, so maybe you didn’t say that, but you’ve had your chance to touch me all over. Maybe I want to do that to you too.”

His expression softened. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Have you considered that I want to?” Beth asked, parroting back his words from their first meeting. “I want to make you feel good too.”

He executed a sit-up and kissed Beth. “You made me feel real good,” he grinned, nipping her bottom lip. “Don’t tell me you forgot already.”

“No,” Beth laughed, “but I want to get to know your body.”

Rio stroked her hair back and tilted her face so their eyes were even. “Okay, Elizabeth,” he agreed, then moved until he was fully laying back on the bed after pressing their lips together once more.

Beth sat up and joined him, pressing herself against his side, then slid a little ways down until her face was even with his neck.

She licked and sucked at the tattoo on his neck, delighting in the feeling of his throat under her mouth. He swallowed, hands gripping her ass. “Gonna tease me all night?” He asked.

Beth hummed.

“That’s not fair, darlin’,” he argued.

“Too bad.” She got her teeth on the tip of a wing and he shifted under her restlessly.

Lifting her hand to her mouth, Beth licked her palm. Rio groaned, the sound deepening when she took his cock in hand. “What do you like?” She asked, suddenly feeling all too aware of her lack of experience with anyone other than Dean.

“You,” was Rio’s answer. She lifted her head to find him staring at her through heavily lidded eyes, his lips parted. 

Beth drew her hand along his length. His nostrils flared as he inhaled. He nodded. 

His skin was soft as Beth stroked him, hot in her grip. She rubbed the tip with her thumb, spreading the pre-cum around. 

“Like that,” he said, his hands tightening on her ass. 

Beth squeezed his cock in response. “This?” She asked, blushing at how breathy her voice sounded.

“Uh huh,” he nodded, his fingers descending between her legs to tease her entrance. Beth’s mouth fell open.

“I want you now,” Beth said, “inside of me.”

Rio slid a finger inside. “Like that?” His eyes were dancing.

She shook her head. “No. I want your,” she paused, “cock.” She could feel her cheeks heat up as she said it, but Rio’s breath hitched.

Rio craned his neck up towards her face and Beth lowered her lips onto his. He withdrew his finger, swiping at her clit as he did, then rolled her to her back. “You got condoms?” 

Beth let go of his cock and reached out towards the nightstand where she’d stashed them, but her arms weren’t long enough. Rio’s were. 

As he scrounged through the drawer with one hand, he brought the other down to tease her with two fingers. They were so much thicker and longer than Beth’s own, giving her something to clench around. He crooked them, stroking her sensitive walls as he licked his way into her mouth. He must have found the condoms because the hand not finger fucking her closed around her breast. 

He massaged her, cupping and weighing her in his palm. “God, your tits are perfect,” he groaned when he broke away. A third finger started to test her entrance, his head dropping down so that he could mouth at the skin of her breasts - not really sucking or biting or licking, just roaming and exploring.

She whimpered, widening her thighs. It took a moment for him to work his third finger in alongside the others.

“You’re so wet for me, sweetheart,” Rio murmured before catching her nipple between his teeth and applying slight pressure. 

Beth felt her thighs trembling and she closed her hands around the back of his head, scratching against the grain of his hair. “I touched myself thinking about you,” she blurted out.

Rio groaned, burying his fingers as far as they could go. “In this bed?” He asked, nosing at the underside of her breast.

Beth nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see her. “Yeah.”

“I want to watch you do that one day,” he told her, pulling away. He opened the condom and Beth watched him put it on. “You gonna let me do that?”

“Yeah,” Beth agreed. Oh god, what was she thinking? But she didn’t have a chance to think about her lack of shame because Rio was rubbing the tip of his cock against her, then pressing in with one long slide. 

Beth rubbed Rio’s scalp, curling her fingers as he lowered his head to press their foreheads together, gaze unwavering. “Fuck,” he drawled when he was buried as deep as he could go. 

“Oh God,” she got out.

He kissed her. “Wrong name, Elizabeth,” he told her as he pulled away.

Beth giggled, though it was cut off by a moan when Rio thrust back in. She wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting him to stay as close as he could get.

He let her keep him close, just thrusting shallowly a few times. “Relax, Elizabeth,” he eventually said, one of his hands cupping the back of her thigh and rubbing it up and down.

It took her a moment to get her muscles to cooperate enough to loosen her hold on him. Rio took the time to kiss her, nip her lower lip, tweak her nipple.

As she relaxed, he increased the depth and pace of his thrusts. “I touched myself thinking about you too,” he said on a particularly harsh thrust that had Beth’s back bowing.

Beth gasped as he dragged his length across what seemed like every nerve ending in her body. She forced herself to take her right hand off of his head and shoved it down between them. She was tempted to just settle on her clit, but something drove her to slide her fingers lower, parting her middle and pointer fingers on either side of her entrance, brushing against Rio’s cock as he pulled out and thrust back in.

She rubbed there, clenching tighter around him as a result and making him drop his head with a grunt. Beth stroked his hair with one hand as she used the other to drive both of them mad. Finally, she needed pressure on her clit and she drew her fingers back up, circling her fingers frantically.

Her toes curled in the sheets as she came, focusing on Rio’s face as he fucked her through it, murmuring things like “That’s it,” and “Fuck, Elizabeth”.

She was still clenching and unclenching around him from the aftermath of her orgasm when she saw the signs of Rio’s.

He bit his lower lip and Beth could see that he’d shut his eyes. Stroking both hands up his sides, she dragged her nails lightly down his back. His hips stuttered.

“You really do like that, huh?” Beth commented like she wasn’t just as breathless as he was.

Rio nodded. His head fell forwards and he blinked his eyes open. Beth’s hands reached his ass as he appeared to reach the point of no return. He was quiet when he came, just a few breathy grunts as he twitched inside of her. 

“I want us to do that without a condom,” she admitted as he went boneless.

He groaned, burying his face in her neck and rubbing his facial hair against her skin, tickling her. “You trying to kill me?”

Beth shook her head. “Why on earth would I do that?”

“I don’t know,” Rio said, moving to pull out. “You’re the one doing it.” He lifted his weight from her and rubbed his nose against her. “Stay there,” he demanded.

Like she could move. 

Rio came back to the bed and dropped down beside her. Beth clutched the sheets around her breasts.

“Turning shy on me, Elizabeth?” He teased, setting his hand over her covered hip. “Don’t be.”

She groaned, covering her face with her hands. 

He laughed, tugging her hands away, and started to lower his head down when his eyes caught on something. “Shit,” he sat up. “I’ve only got the sitter ’til midnight.” Beth turned her head towards the clock. It was 11:30.

“Oh.” She held the sheet as she sat up. “I’m sorry for keeping -“

Rio put his finger against her lips. “Don’t you dare. I’ve still got time. But I do need to leave soon.” His smile softened as he rubbed her lower lip. “I need to get some sleep too,” he said, “me and Marcus got plans tomorrow.”

Beth laughed, lowering her eyes to his chest. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Rio kissed her briefly before getting out of the bed, “I’ve got something set up with this really hot woman so our kids can play soccer together. I don’t want to be too tired, make a bad impression.” 

She bit her lip, watching him yank his underwear up. “I’m sure she’d be forgiving.”

He stepped into his jeans. “Maybe,” he shrugged, zipping them up, “but I want her to like me.”

“She does,” Beth said. 

Rio stopped midway through buttoning up his shirt and looked up at her. “Yeah?”

Beth nodded.

“That’s good.” His voice was soft. He finished with his shirt before coming to sit on the edge of the bed. “I like her too.”

Beth leaned in and he mirrored the action. The kiss was sweet, shallow. 

“Can you pass me my robe?” She asked, pointing to the one hanging off the closet door. Without questioning her, Rio fetched it for her. By the time he had his socks on, she was covered enough to feel comfortable walking him to the door. He slipped his shoes on and came to stand right in front of her, cupping her cheeks and bending down.

“Sleep well,” he said against her lips, then he was gone.

Beth watched him walk to his car and get in. She shut and locked the door, dropping her head against the solid wood. How the fuck was she supposed to sleep now?

———————

_You want a coffee?_

Beth smiled down at her phone and messaged back, _Got one, but thanks. See you soon!_

“Spill,” Ruby said.

“Rio was just asking if I wanted a coffee,” Beth said, flushing as she set her phone down and took a sip from her travel mug, a gift from the kids last mother’s day. 

Ruby hummed in approval. “The date went well then?”

“Well, I didn’t cancel this playdate or tell you that you had to go,” Beth knocked their shoulders together, “so I would say so.”

When Beth had arrived at the park ten minutes before, Ruby had been sitting on their usual bench with a book as Harry played in the sand. She shouldn’t have been surprised by the ambush, not after telling Ruby that they’d be meeting and where. At least Annie hadn’t shown.

“Oh whatever,” Ruby waved away Beth’s pointed comment, “you know that I need to meet him myself before I deliver any kind of judgement on whether or not he’s good enough for you.”

Beth considered whether or not it would be worth it to try and convince Ruby that he was. It was likely to be a waste of breath - Ruby would like him or she wouldn’t. Looking back to their high school years, her friend hadn’t been all too enthusiastic about Dean beyond the fact that he was a senior who wanted to take her to prom. But what else did she have to compare that to? It wasn’t like Ruby had been particularly fond of Greg either. 

Then again, of the three of them, Ruby was the only one still married, so maybe Beth and Annie should have been trusting her opinion more when it came to romance. 

She was drawn out of her thoughts when a shiny black car turned around the corner and pulled into the parking lot smoothly. “That’s him,” Beth nodded in the direction of the car as he opened his door, then Marcus’. The two of them moved to the trunk.

“Oh wow,” Ruby muttered.

“Uh huh,” Beth agreed, watching Rio pull out a soccer ball, which he passed to Marcus, and then some pylons. She laughed under her breath. The two of them took this seriously. 

Jane had noticed their arrival and called out from her position on the jungle gym. “Hi Marcus!” She waved and Marcus asked Rio something. Getting a nod, Marcus ran the rest of the way to the playground as Jane went down the slide.

“Hello Elizabeth,” Rio greeted her, bending down to kiss her briefly.

The blush that had faded came back in full force, something that made Rio’s eyes brighten. 

“And I’m gonna go ahead and guess that the way you’re glaring at me makes you Ruby,” Rio said, offering a hand. Ruby took it. “I’m Rio.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Ruby replied. “What a coincidence, seeing the two of you here,” she deadpanned, not even bothering to be ashamed of the fact that she’d done it on purpose.

Rio took a seat on the other side of Beth, setting the pylons down at his feet. “Funny how life works,” he agreed. “Marcus woke me up this morning at 6, asking when we were going to the park.”

It was just ten now. 

“I woke up at 6 because I always wake up at 6,” Beth replied. “Jane’s the sleeper of the family. She told me when I picked her up that she didn’t get out of bed until 9. I have no idea where she gets it.”

“Probably from being 6,” Rio suggested. 

“Marcus is the same age?” Ruby asked.

Rio, still amused, nodded.

“He’s a cute kid,” Ruby said, “probably gets away with a lot.”

Rio grinned. “Not with me, I know his tricks. I used them once upon a time.”

“And his mom?”

Rio’s grin turned into full blown laughter. “You take some interrogation lessons with your husband or something?” He lifted his arms to rest them on the back of the bench, still chuckling. “Cassie and I have known each other since seventh grade. We didn’t get married, but we get along just fine. She’s been in a relationship with someone else for the last nine months. We share custody of Marcus. Anything else you want to know?” 

Beth covered her face and groaned. “Don’t answer that, Ruby.”

His fingers tickled the back of her neck. “Hey,” he leaned towards her to say softly, “it’s cool. She cares about you.”

“Ask away,” he said louder, straightening back up but leaving his hand on Beth’s neck, gliding back and forth over her skin.

Ruby didn’t say anything. Beth uncovered her face and looked at her best friend, who was grinning madly even as her eyes got a little glassy. “I’m good,” she got out, sounding a little bit choked up. “So long as you don’t hurt Beth. Then we’ll have a problem.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Rio said right before Jane and Marcus raced to the bench, Harry running after them.

“Hi Miss Beth,” Marcus was less shy today, even offering Ruby a smile when Beth introduced them. “Can you help set up nets?” Marcus asked Rio.

“Nets? I don’t know about that,” Rio teased even as he got up and grabbed the pylons. “Sounds like that’s a four person job. I’m gonna need some help.”

“We’ll help!” Jane assured him, her arms wrapped around the soccer ball. 

Rio nodded. “We’d better get started then.”

He led the three kids away like some kind of absurdly sexy Pied Piper, until they reached the open stretch of grass.

“Oh, I like him,” Ruby said.

Beth turned to look at her. “That was fast.”

“Honey,” Ruby set her hand on Beth’s arm, “that man asked if you wanted coffee - which, might I point out, he appears to not be drinking himself,” Ruby wagged her finger in Rio’s direction, “and is currently dealing with two little hellions that aren’t his. On a Saturday morning. Normally, I’d say that it’s just basic common decency and that we should not be impressed because of it, but let’s face it, he’s already leagues ahead of the men in your life.”

She was right, but Beth didn’t want to meet her eyes, so she looked to where Emma was on the swings with another little girl from her school. 

“He has a juvenile criminal record,” she blurted out.

Ruby didn’t say anything to that at first, then squeezed Beth’s arm. “He do anything really bad? He still in the life?”

“He stole a car,” Beth shared, “and hasn’t had any trouble since.”

“In that case,” Ruby declared, “I am more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Boy put a smile on your face I haven’t seen in a long ass time.”

Beth finally gave in and met Ruby’s eyes. 

“Hate you,” she said.

“Hate your face,” Ruby replied, releasing her arm so that they could hug. When they let go, they turned their attention to where Rio had been roped into playing coach/goaltender for the kids.

“That man is hot as hell,” Ruby sighed. “If I didn’t love Stan…”

Beth giggled.

“The sex is good?” Ruby asked.

“Phenomenal,” Beth flushed. “He’s -“

It took her a moment to find the right words. “Considerate. God, that makes it sound boring, but it’s not.”

“He takes care of you.”

Beth nodded. “Yes, very much yes.”

“Then I’m happy for you,” Ruby laughed. “I just have a question.”

“Shoot.” Beth took a sip from her travel mug.

“Does he have a dick tattoo?”

Beth spat out her mouthful of coffee.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Julia Michaels’ Issues. 
> 
> For the first time, actually beta’ed! Thank you to neveroffanon and medievalraven for all of their help and bowling knowledge because apparently Canadian bowling isn’t the same??? If there's any content that you think I should tag for, let me know!
> 
> The discussion about Rio going to juvie is primarily informed by my knowledge of the Canadian youth justice system.
> 
> I don’t recommend getting a sleeve in a single session, but it is possible. Rio doing his all at once is based on someone I have met.
> 
> Thank you for reading and commenting and leaving kudos! Honestly every time I see a comment/kudos, I’m kind of like, “People enjoy my self indulgent nonsense?” Anyways, like Beth, you should all remember that you are valuable and deserve someone who puts effort into being in a relationship.


End file.
